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Wilson Cup - Stromness (Orkney) -
25 & 26 June 05 Although the Wilson Cup is over 100 years old this was only the 79th playing of the trophy. In May 1903 Sheriff John Wilson, who was the Sheriff for the Counties of Orkney, Shetland and Caithness presented a challenge cup to be played for between the clubs in these three counties. This year saw Lybster GC of Caithness and Whalsay GC of the Shetland Isles gain entry to the very exclusive Wilson Cup family and the Competition for the first time bringing the number of teams up to eight. Golf is played in the foursomes format with each club having two pairs of teams. Two groups of four teams play a round robin competition with the winners of each group contesting the final.
The first rounds in the morning saw all the teams tee off with great expectations and high hopes of Wilson Cup glory. Conditions were excellent and the course extremely well presented with the surrounding panoramic views quite stunning. As always nerves were jangling and the golf a bit untidy over the first few holes as everybody settled down. On calculating the total age of the Wick and Whalsay first pairs some wag in the gallery asked if it was the Seniors Wilson Cup. This epitomises the spirit, the sportsmanship and camaraderie of those who have been privileged to represent their clubs over the years and become part of the great Wilson Cup 'family'. In Group A the hot local derby of Stromness v Kirkwall resulted in a fine win for Stromness with Kenny Inkster and Brian Corsie finishing 3 up over Andy Bonner and Steven Rendall and the match between Denis Harvey and Ray Heddle ending all square with Pete McKinley and Martin Fleet. Bill Murray and Ronnie Taylor very seasoned veterans shot Wick off to a great start going 6 up over Tommy Simpson and Graham Sandison of Whalsay making their overdue Wilson Cup debuts as John Harper and Nicky Klimas halved with Neil Anderson and Robert Polson. It was interesting to note that at 65 years old Bill Murray recently crowned the Club Champion at Wick is still mixing it with the best and clearly beating them. Meanwhile in Group B debutants Lybster got off to a winning start beating Thurso by the smallest margin of one hole. Dougie Thorburn and Alan Swanson of Thurso lost out to Alistair Young and John Gunn whilst Ewen Mackenzie and Jim Sangster shared the honours with Eric Larnach and Davy Nicolson of Lybster. Bringing up the rear was Graeme Dunnett and Don Mackay of Reay losing out closely by one hole to the Shetland pair of Stuart Fox and Michael Boxwell but still claiming victory as James Henderson and Colin Paterson put in an accomplished performance to win 5 up against Alan Harcus and Robert Jamieson. Wick looked strong in Group A and in Group B Reay were looking comfortable and after a welcome lunch break the second round matches got under way with conditions remaining excellent and some changes in fortune really opening up Group B. Stromness confident from their morning victory now faced Wick but the grand old men from Wick Murray and Taylor were able to draw on experience and see off Inkster and Corsie by three holes. Harvey and Heddle cut the winning margin by disposing of Klimas and Harper in fine fashion by two holes so pegging Wick back to a narrow 1 hole victory. Kirkwall were in the meantime doing a demolition job on newcomers Whalsay to secure a valuable 8 hole margin of victory and now must beat Wick on Sunday to make the final which puts real bite into their impending encounter. A win over Wick had to be good or Stromness would sneak in on hole differential In Group B Thurso secured a rare victory over Reay as Don Mackay and Graeme Dunnett crashed out by three holes to Dougie Thorburn and Alan Swanson in a late collapse. Limiting the damage was James Henderson with a fine birdie on the 18th set up by Colin Paterson gaining a 1 hole win over Jim Sangster and Ewan Mackenzie. The Lybster bubble was burst as they came back down to earth as Stuart Fox and Michael Boxwell put in a stylish 3 hole victory and Harcus and Jamieson also chipped in with a 1 hole victory. Fortunes certainly changed and Group B now looks very interesting as all the teams have won and lost one match each. All four teams can still make the final with good wins on Sunday and Reay the favourites in Pool two have the lead with the narrowest of margins being plus two and all four Clubs went off to dinner thinking those immortal golfing words 'if only !!' Day two began in unfamiliar circumstances and uncharted territory with seven teams still able to qualify for the final. The fresh sea breeze was strengthening and this was not a place for the fainthearted as the men got sorted out from the boys. Hearts beating rapidly it was time to step up to the plate and be counted. In Group A Stromness were first off against Whalsay and got a comfortable victory with a four hole margin and had to wait for the result of the next match. Kirkwall then took on Wick and got a bit of a cuffing going down by 5 holes putting Wick into the final and the only team with three victories. Kirkwall needed to beat Wick by a resounding margin otherwise Stromness would have qualified, they didn't make it so the grand old men of Wick were in the final yet again, doing well as the only Caithness team in the group up against three Island teams. In Group B we had the converse with three Caithness teams and one Island team jockeying for position and here it was the Island team that made the final. Shetland and Thurso fought a close run match with Stuart Fox and Michael Boxwell gaining the all important 1 hole victory over Alan Swanson and Dougie Thorburn as Thurso just couldn't find that bit of inspiration that makes the difference. The Lybster match against Reay was also a ding dong affair with the lead changing hands constantly and both teams doing their best to throw away a result. John Gunn and Alistair Young finished all square with Graeme Dunnett and Don Mackay. Cormack and Nicolson managed a hard fought 1 hole victory over Paterson and Henderson but couldn't make up enough ground to challenge for the final. Shetland made the final courtesy of a plus 1 aggregate equalled by Reay but their two victories made the difference. In their first Wilson Cup Lybster had done a great job in claiming the prized scalps of Thurso and Reay. The Final played in the afternoon was between Wick and Shetland. Ten years have elapsed since an Island Team won and Shetland in 1995 were the last Islanders to claim the Trophy as it has become monopolised by Reay and Wick in recent years. Most neutral supporters were hoping for an Island victory from Shetland to break the stranglehold on the trophy. The final was well supported but the weather atrocious as the waterproofs went on at the third and didn't come off till the eighteenth. Golf was difficult in the circumstances, cold and thoroughly unpleasant. Nevertheless Bill Murray and Ronnie Taylor found the quality to build a two hole winning margin over the much younger Stuart Fox and Michael Boxwell of Shetland who battled bravely and didn't give up. It was nip and tuck in the second match between Nicky Klimas and John Harper who couldn't get the better of Robert Jamieson and Alan Harcus and the Shetland boys won by one hole. The spoils in the end went to Wick by the narrowest of margins as they retained the trophy and received everybody's congratulations. Ronnie Taylor gets his name on the trophy for a record ten times now and the unique experience of winning at every venue. He can't retire now as there are two new venues. Wick are worthy winners and defend the trophy at Thurso Golf Club next year when the new and larger Wilson Cup 'family' reconvenes to do it all again.
FINAL - WICK v SHETLAND
ROUND 2 - REAY v THURSO
ROUND 1 - REAY v SHETLAND
REAY v LYBSTER
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